ADOTAS – This past Friday, Advertising Age reported that Omnicom has agreed to spend up to $100 million over the coming year to advertise its clients on Instagram. It is reportedly the first deal of its kind for the photo- and video-sharing site, which is a subsidiary of Facebook.

“The arrangement means that users will start seeing ads in their streams from brands that work with Omnicom’s media and creative agencies, including Omnicom Media Group, the media agency network that spearheaded the deal, and creative shops within the holding company like BBDO, DDB and TBWA/Chiat/Day,” wrote Ad Age’s Alexandra Bruell. ”Omnicom’s media agency network houses PHD and OMD.”

Today, we asked our industry contacts what they think of the deal. Here’s how they responded:

“Instagram’s partnership with Omnicom is a significant step towards opening up the inventory and wooing brands in to spending dollars on the platform. While the ads might still be carefully reviewed to maintain the quality and aesthetics of Instagram, this partnership signals the company has moved beyond its experimentation phase. We can expect more such partnerships in the future, allowing global brands new opportunities to engage with consumers across the visual web.” – Sharad Verma, CEO & Co-Founder of Piqora.

“Omnicom’s deal with Instagram highlights the value that Marketers gain with utilizing Native Advertising. This displays vision and thought leadership from Omnicom and their clients to embrace Native ad formats. We see this as the first in many such agreements as more marketers see the potential to be had in Native.” — Michael Weaver, Senior Vice President of Product at Bidtellect.

“It’s a smart move for Omnicom to partner with Instagram to help brands reach the platform’s 160 million users. With such a visually powered offering, it’s important that Omnicom is getting in early with Instagram to ensure the seamless integration of their ads. As a social marketer, I look forward to seeing how we can integrate the one-two-punch of paid ads with social sponsorships that empower influencers on Instagram. According to Nielsen, almost 90% of consumers say they trust their friends and the people they follow online. Given this, integrating ads and social sponsorships could be a very powerful option for brands and agencies to reach and impact target audiences.” – Ryan Schram, COO of IZEA.

“First movers truly benefit in social media, so it is a smart move for Omnicom to take the lead and begin advertising on Instagram while they have the opportunity to test and learn on behalf of their brand clients. In light of Facebook’s recent changes that have decreased organic reach for brands, this is an especially smart move, allowing Omnicom and its brands to calculate which social networks deliver best results across networks. It is widely proven that rich media encourages sharing, interaction and conversion rates more so than any other type of content. All these factors combined mean that dedicated budget to Instagram advertising is a wise choice and positions Omnicom agencies as leaders in social media advertising.” – Marko Z. Muellner, VP Marketing at ShopIgniter.

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Mike Daly is an award-winning writer and editor with 30 years of experience in publishing. He began his career in 1983 at The News of Paterson, N.J., a long-since defunct daily paper, where at age 22 he was promoted to the position of Editorial Page Editor. Since then he has served in managerial capacities with several news organizations, including Arts Weekly Inc. and North Jersey Media Group in New Jersey and Examiner Media in New York. His work has been honored on numerous occasions by the New Jersey Press Association and the Society for Professional Journalists.